Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Members of the All India Bank Employees Association have threatened to go on nation-wide strikes to express their unhappiness with the move to privatise banks, allowing foreign direct investment in the banking sector and outsourcing of services. The exact dates of the strike will be decided at the AIBEA national general council meeting to be held in Chennai on June 13 and 14. Speaking to press persons on Friday, C.H. Venkatachalam, secretary of the association, condemned the attempts to continuously `attack the financial and banking sector.’

The AIBEA was against the government’s intention to privatise public sector banks and the disinvestment of shares up to 49 per cent. In the past decade, a number of private sector banks had folded and hence, in the best interests of the investor, banks should continue to remain in the public sector, he said. Merging public sector banks into five or six big banks in order to enable them become global institutions dealing with international trade and business was a `retrograde’ idea, he charged. The total assets of all the 27 public sector banks in the country (less than U.S. $300 billion) were well below the assets of any top global bank, he added.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

The Daily Star, a tabloid newspaper in the United Kingdom, has paid an undisclosed amount of libel damages to Ozzy Osbourne stemming from an inaccurate representation of his appearance at the Brit Awards.

Osbourne, famous for both his solo rock career and fronting the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, was hosting the show alongside wife Sharon and children Jack and Kelly. In an ensuing Star article titled “Ozzy Freak Show”, the 59-year old was portrayed as suffering from health problems that rendered his ability to host the show questionable.

The article claimed that he had collapsed twice before the show began, prompting the show’s organisers to enter emergency talks debating whether Osbourne was fit to continue as planned or instead should be withdrawn and hospitalised. It also reported that the singer had used an electric buggy to move around behind the scenes and had been designated a place to sit in case he felt tired. All of these allegations were found to be false.

At the settlement in London’s High Court, at which the Osbournes were not present, Kate Wilson, representing Express Newspapers, apologised for the article and accepted that it should never have been published. Express Newspapers owns the Daily Star.

Osbourne says that the money will go to his wife’s charity, the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

The Iranian police forces have faced criticism from Ayatollah Hashemi Shahrudi, the head of the judiciary who was appointed by Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for their re-invigorated campaign to do away with un-Islamic dress.

Ayatollah Shahroudi proclaimed, “Tough measures on social problems will backfire and have counter-productive effects.” Others have, of course, made it clear that un-Islamic dress can lead to moral corruption, engender innumerable vices, and hurt the Islamic character of the nation.

Some believe that no one had any issue with the creation of an Islamic atmosphere. The core of the matter revolves around the implementation of the Islamic dress code; additionally, heavy-handed measures should be shunned. For instance, Mehdi Ahmadi, information head of Tehran’s police, told Al Jazeera: “Some citizens may complain about the way the law is being enforced but they all agree with the plan itself.”

According to one student, “You simply can’t tell people what to wear. They don’t understand that use of force only brings hatred towards them, not love.” Nevertheless, Hojatoll-Islam Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi, Iran’s interior minister who is in charge of policing, prognosticated positive feedback from the populace when he said, “People are unhappy with the social and moral status of the society. They expect that the fight against social insecurity be properly implemented.” Thus, Hujjat al-Islam Pour-Mohammadi re-iterated the necessity of proper implementation and methodology towards the restoration of morality in the Islamic Republic. Islamic officials and religious people affirm that this is indispensable to promote righteousness, curb sin, and bring open sinners to justice.

Following the Islamic Revolution in 1979, hijab became mandatory in Iran for every woman including foreigners after over 98% of citizens voted for an Islamic government. Women may face caning up to 74 strokes for failing to observe hijab. In this recent crackdown, the authorities have arrested many citizens throughout the country. Not only have women been taken into custody for their hair being uncovered on their foreheads and tight clothes that show body shapes, For men they need to cover from knee to their waist as according to Sharia. Even a foreign journalist was detained because the photograph on her press card was indecent.

It has not been clear whence the directive for the re-newed clampdown emanated. Some have blamed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad while Gholam Hossein Elham, the government spokesman, stated to reporters, “The police work as agents of the judiciary to confront crimes. The government as an executive body does not interfere in the affairs of the judiciary.” The following pre-election speech seems to corroborate this latter statement:

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Luis Armando Peña Soltren surrendered to United States law enforcement at 1:30 Sunday, at New York City‘s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).

Soltren had arrived on a flight from Havana, Cuba, where authorities say he has resided 41 years to avoid prosecution. Soltren is charged with air piracy and kidnapping, for allegedly participating in the November 24, 1968 hijacking of Pan Am Flight 281, which took off from JFK.

According to the December 1968 indictment against him, by then-United States Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau, Soltren conspired in the hijacking with Jose Rafael Rios Cruz, Miguel Castro and Alejandro Figueroa. Soltren, Cruz, and Castro seized control of the flight, originally destined for Puerto Rico, using guns and knives they had smuggled in a diaper bag. They forced the pilot to land at Havana instead. Such hijackings were frequent at the time, with 30 successful or attempted diversions to Cuba in 1968.

Cruz and Castro pled guilty in the 1970’s, and received 15 and 12-year sentences, respectively. Figueroa was acquitted in 1969.

United States Attorney Preet Bharara announced that Soltren would “finally face the American justice system that he has been evading for more than four decades.” Soltren reportedly arranged his return because he wanted to visit his wife, who lives in either Florida or Puerto Rico. He is expected to be arraigned Tuesday.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Blaise Thompson is running for the Family Coalition Party in the Ontario provincial election, in the St. Paul’s riding. Wikinews’ Nick Moreau interviewed him regarding his values, his experience, and his campaign.

Stay tuned for further interviews; every candidate from every party is eligible, and will be contacted. Expect interviews from Liberals, Progressive Conservatives, New Democratic Party members, Ontario Greens, as well as members from the Family Coalition, Freedom, Communist, Libertarian, and Confederation of Regions parties, as well as independents.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Female lawyers in Saudi Arabia may soon be granted limited court access for the first time. Mohammed al-Issa, the justice minister, said that the law was part of King Abdullah’s ongoing reform to Saudi Arabia’s judicial system. The law would allow female lawyers to represent other women at family-related cases, including marriage, divorce, and child custody.

Saudi women that are educated in law are currently permitted to work in the female section of government and court offices. Positions of higher authority are reserved for the opposite sex. The Saudi government is also building specialized “personal status” or family courts where female lawyers will be permitted to practice.

Women rights are strictly defined by Islamic Sharia law in Saudi Arabia. Employment and educational opportunities are dependent on a system of male guardianship. For example, a female under the age of 45 must gain the approval of a male before traveling.

According to the BBC, the law and other minor changes are steps in the direction of easing restrictions placed on Saudi women.

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Kent Hovind‘s motion for acquittal was denied on Wednesday, April 18, 2007. Hovind, a Pensacola young Earth creationist and operator of Dinosaur Adventure Land, along with his wife, Jo Hovind, were found guilty in November 2006 on 58 federal counts of “willful failure” to payroll taxes, structuring bank withdrawals, and obstructing federal agents.

On January 19, 2007 Kent was sentenced to ten years in prison and ordered to pay US$640,000 in owed funds to the Internal Revenue Service, pay prosecution’s court costs of $7,078, and serve three years parole once released.

In his motion, Hovind had contended that under the rule in a case called United States v. Davenport the crime is not the individual withdrawals, but is instead the total transaction, also known as the “unit of the crime.” Thus, Hovind argued that in his case there was no “unit of the crime” “separate and distinct from the alleged act of withdrawing, and without such a separate amount to be structured [. . .] there could be no crime alleged, and no conviction on any charge in Counts 13 through 57.” The trial court rejected Hovind’s “unit of the crime” argument.

Had the judge ruled in Hovind’s favor his sentence would have reduced Hovind’s prison sentence from ten years to five years.

Jo Hovind sentencing was delayed pending the ruling on the motion. She will be sentenced soon though no date has been set.